According to a report from TechNews, citing Korean media outlet The Elec, Apple was exploring two options for applying the color filter to the OLED panel intended for the more affordable Vision Pro device.

The report from The Elec indicates that this yet-to-be-named MR device from Apple will use a panel that is based on a glass board with white OLED deposited on it, topped by an RGB color filter to create various colors—a method known as W-OLED+CF. For resolution, Apple is thinking about 1,500ppi.

The report points out that since this device will use a glass board, it is not OLEDoS (OLED on silicon), different from the current Vision Pro that uses Sony’s OLEDoS technology with a resolution of 3,400ppi.

The report mentions that Apple is considering two approaches to apply the color filter
for this new device. The first approach is to directly form the color filter on the thin-film encapsulation (TFE) that covers the panel. The second, more standard approach, involves forming the color filter on a glass board and then combining it with another glass board with W-OLED deposited on it, making the W-OLED glass board the base and the color filter board the top.

Apple is leaning towards the first approach—forming the filter directly on TFE—as it would require only one glass board, making the MR device thinner, according to the report from The Elec.

However, the color filter formation of TFE demands a low-temperature process to avoid damaging the OLED, which makes it more challenging, as the report from The Elec mentions. Samsung currently uses this technique of directly forming the color filter on its foldable phones, which is known as color filter on encapsulation (CoE).

However, according to the report, Apple aims for a resolution of 1,500ppi, but the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 inner panel has a resolution of just 374ppi. To achieve such high resolution, additional technological costs will be involved.

The report indicates that Samsung remains the most likely supplier of W-OLED+CF panels for Apple’s new MR product.

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(Photo credit: Apple)

According to a report from TechNews, citing Nikkei, Apple is reportedly in talks with Foxconn to manufacture AI servers in Taiwan as part of its strategy to capture a larger share of the booming generative AI market.

However, according to Nikkei, while Foxconn is Apple’s largest iPhone manufacturing partner, it also produces AI servers for NVIDIA, which could limit its capacity to take on Apple’s AI server orders.

The Nikkei report highlights that Apple prefers to use its own chips for building servers that will power generative AI features in MacBooks and other devices. Citing industry sources, the report stated that Apple is exploring the production of its own AI servers and has been in talks with Foxconn. However, the volume of servers Apple is considering producing is relatively low compared to the demand for NVIDIA’s GB200 servers.

The report suggests that Apple wants Foxconn to produce AI servers in Taiwan to take advantage of Taiwan’s engineering talent and R&D resources. Apple, with less experience in designing data center servers compared to NVIDIA, may require additional support for the production of its AI servers.

The report notes that as mastering AI computing and expanding data center infrastructure become critical to next-generation computing, Apple is enhancing its server capabilities in response to heavy investments in AI data centers by rivals such as Microsoft, Amazon, and Google.

According to the Nikkei report citing sources, with Foxconn occupied with fulfilling orders for NVIDIA servers, Apple has turned to China’s Lenovo and its subsidiary LCFC for additional support, along with smaller suppliers like Universal Scientific Industrial to assist with production. Additionally, Apple’s discussions with Lenovo also include plans to build server production capability in Southeast Asia, outside of China.

The report highlights that building AI servers is more complex than anticipated, and currently only a few manufacturers worldwide are capable of producing NVIDIA’s AI servers, including Foxconn, Quanta, Wistron, and Supermicro. However, the production capacities of these manufacturers are largely contracted by NVIDIA.

On the other hand, according to TechNews, institutional investors pointed out that Foxconn has production capacity in multiple regions worldwide, and given the ongoing tensions between the U.S. and China, Apple’s AI servers may not necessarily need to be manufactured in Taiwan.

The report from TechNews further noted, citing institutional investors, that the current discussion between Apple and Foxconn may still be in the early stages. However, due to their long-standing partnership, even if Apple’s order volume is relatively small, Foxconn is likely to accept the production of Apple’s AI servers.

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(Photo credit: Foxconn)

According to a report from South China Morning Post, Huawei Technologies founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei stated that he admires the “openness and inclusivity” of the U.S. tech community. However, Huawei “had no choice” but to build its own tools because of U.S. sanctions.

The report quoted a transcript of Ren Zhengfei’s recent conversation with students and academics from the website of the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC), stating Huawei should learn from the open culture of the U.S., which has enabled the country to achieve significant advancements in science and technology.

According to the report, Ren indicated that Huawei is “still struggling” and cannot confidently assert that it can survive, as the company is restricted from accessing better chips and technologies due to U.S. sanctions.

Used to call himself an “Apple fan,” Ren stated that “American technologies and tools are very good … [but] Huawei cannot use them; we had no choice but to create our own tools,” as the report noted.

According to the report, since May 2019, Huawei has been restricted from acquiring hardware, software, and services from U.S. manufacturers, as it was included in Washington’s trade blacklist. In 2020, the U.S. implemented stricter trade restrictions, restricting Huawei’s access to advanced semiconductors developed or produced using U.S. technology, regardless of where they were manufactured.

The report noted that Huawei has been a significant force in China’s self-sufficiency efforts, in areas from AI chips to operating systems. These include the launch of a series of smartphones featuring processors entirely manufactured in China, as well as the introduction of HarmonyOS Next, a domestic mobile operating system that no longer supports Android-based applications.

Regarding the AI trend, according to the report, Ren stated that the AI trend is unstoppable, and AI applications are creating the turning point of the times. According to another report from South China Morning Post, Huawei is said to initiate sampling of its latest AI accelerator, Ascend 910C, to Chinese customers, which is regarded as an upgraded version of the Ascend 910B and claimed to be comparable to NVIDIA’s H100 GPU, which cannot be directly sold in China.

The report noted that this is not the first time Ren has expressed admiration for the U.S.. He also encouraged employees to learn from the U.S. in terms of technology and science during an internal meeting in 2021.

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(Photo credit: Huawei)

Apple announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024, which ended on September 28. According to a report from Commercial Times, the company achieved record revenue for this period, surpassing Wall Street’s expectations.

In its press release, Apple indicated that revenue rose by 6 percent year over year, reaching USD 94.9 billion.

According to its press release, the company’s net income fell due to a one-time charge related to a tax decision in Europe. The quarterly diluted earnings per share were USD 0.97. However, when excluding this one-time tax charge related to the reversal of the European General Court’s State Aid, diluted earnings per share was USD 1.64, an increase of 12% year over year.

According to a report from CNBC, revenue from iPhone increased by 6%, making up about 49% of the company’s overall sales. The report quoted Apple CEO Tim Cook, who noted that sales of iPhone 15 were stronger than those of iPhone 14 in the same quarter last year, and that iPhone 16 is performing even better than iPhone 15. Additionally, Cook highlighted the positive feedback for Apple Intelligence, which launched this week.

Furthermore, its press release also mentioned that its services revenue reaches new all-time high. According to CNBC, Apple’s services segment, which encompasses online subscriptions like iCloud, revenue from Google searches, and AppleCare warranties for its hardware, experienced a 12% year-over-year growth, reaching nearly USD 25 billion in sales.

Apple’s CFO, Luca Maestri, stated that the company’s record business performance in the September quarter generated nearly USD 27 billion in operating cash flow, enabling them to return more than USD 29 billion to shareholders.

On the other hand, the CNBC report noted that as Apple faces renewed competition from local Chinese smartphone manufacturers like Huawei, its revenue in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong declined slightly year over year to USD 15.03 billion.

According to the report from CNBC, Apple expected sales growth of low to mid-single digits in the December quarter.

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(Photo credit: Apple)

According to a report from TechNews, Samsung is expanding its use of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors in its Galaxy flagship phones, while its own Exynos processors are primarily utilized in mid- to low-end smartphones, tablets, and home appliances.

However, Exynos processors may no longer be used even in home appliances, as Samsung is reported considering installing Qualcomm’s processors in these devices, according to the report from SEDaily.

The report from SEDaily pointed out that since Samsung needs to install expensive Qualcomm processors in the Galaxy S25 series of smartphones set to launch in 2025, it plans to actively use Qualcomm products in home appliances to achieve related cost efficiencies.

The report indicated that, according to Yoo Mi-young, Vice President and Head of the Software Development Team in the Digital Appliances (DA) Division, Samsung is currently developing new products aimed at launching home appliances that utilize large-scale language models, or edge computing, in 2025. Additionally, Samsung is working on its own low-power, high-performance neural network processing unit chip.

Furthermore, the report noted that the home appliance most affected will be the refrigerator, as the latest Samsung refrigerators feature AI that can identify ingredients and recommend recipes. To support this AI function, powerful processors will be needed.

According to the report, Samsung has been developing Exynos 2500 series processors in the past. However, due to performance and yield issues, sources indicate that Samsung’s Galaxy S25/S25+/Ultra and other mobile phones will use Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor.

The report indicated that the price of the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor is approximately twice that of the Exynos. Therefore, Samsung is reportedly planning to actively incorporate Qualcomm chips into home appliances to help share costs, which also aligns with the trend toward smart home devices.

According to the report, the price of the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon processor has increased by 20%, so Samsung’s cost burden has also increased significantly. With the trend toward smart home appliances, actively expanding the use of Qualcomm chips in these products is expected to help reduce Qualcomm’s mobile AP purchase prices.

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(Photo credit: Samsung)